5: Technological leaps and new crises

The battle ended swiftly and decisively, but the shock in Sun Zheng's heart didn't subside for a long time. The fact that such unidentified mechanical things that would actively attack were hidden on the far side of the moon completely shattered his previous illusion that this place was relatively safe.

"A001, report casualties and inventory the spoils," Sun Zheng said into the communicator, his voice maintaining the composure a Commander should have.

"Reporting to Commander: no fatalities. A004 sustained minor injuries and has been treated with a first-aid kit. Total spoils: six sets of unknown mechanical wreckage, severely damaged; one unknown energy core with a weak signal; and some unrecognizable metal fragments," A001 answered cleanly. On the screen, a soldier was carefully placing the watermelon-sized core, which was covered in strange patterns and flashing with an unstable red light, into a specialized containment box.

"Very good. Bring everything back to the base and place them in the designated area outside the Command Center. Mission accomplished, all units withdraw."

"Understood!"

Watching the scout squad begin their return while escorting the spoils, Sun Zheng immediately pulled up the building list. He had previously felt he could take things slow, but now, the War Factory had to be started immediately! If the riflemen struggled this much against such small machines, what if they encountered something tougher? He needed armor; he needed heavy firepower!

Building a War Factory required $2,000 and more power. Currently, due to mass-producing troops and the recent battle, his funds were down to [Funds: 800]. As for power, because he only had two Power Plants, it was already at its limit.

"I must continue to expand!" Sun Zheng made up his mind. He planned his construction order: first, build a third Power Plant ($1,000) immediately to provide sufficient power for subsequent buildings. Meanwhile, he would have the two ore trucks work like crazy to save up enough funds.

Just as he was about to issue the construction order, a blue prompt he had never seen before suddenly popped up on the system interface, unlike the usual yellow warnings or red alerts:

[Detected that the Commander has obtained an unknown technological creation.]

[Incorporate into the "Combat Laboratory" pre-research analysis sequence? (Note: Requires funds and occupies research bandwidth, which may slow down existing R&D)]

[Analysis Target: Unknown mechanical core/wreckage. Estimated Cost: $5,000. Estimated Time: 8 hours.]

Combat Laboratory? Sun Zheng was taken aback; he hadn't even built that advanced building yet. But he quickly realized this might be a special analysis function provided by the system, allowing for research even if the building wasn't finished, though the cost was a bit high.

Five thousand dollars! That was no small sum. And he had to wait eight hours. But the temptation was too great! If he could scavenge something from this alien technology, it would definitely be a qualitative leap!

Should he play it safe and focus on massing troops and infrastructure, or take a gamble and sink heavy funds into research?

Sun Zheng only hesitated for three seconds. High risk, high reward! In this godforsaken place, being one step ahead in technology could be the difference between life and death.

"Confirm analysis! Deduct the funds from the refinery income as a priority!" he ordered. The already meager funds in his account were instantly drained by a five-thousand-dollar "down payment," sending the balance straight into the negative.

[Analysis program initiated. Please place the analysis target within the signal range of the Command Center.]

By this time, A001's squad had returned and placed the containment box and wreckage at the entrance of the Command Center. Almost the moment they were set down, several thin scanning beams shot out from the base of the Command Center, covering the spoils.

An eight-hour countdown appeared in the corner of the console.

Sun Zheng suppressed his anticipation and continued with his infrastructure. As the funds slowly ticked up, reaching exactly $1,000, he immediately began building the third Power Plant. The power limit increased to 300.

Next came the patient waiting and accumulation. During this period, he trained four more American Soldiers, expanding his infantry force to ten men and increasing the patrol range by dividing them into groups.

Eight hours on the moon passed in what felt like a flash. The moment the countdown hit zero, Sun Zheng held his breath.

[Analysis complete!]

[Successfully cracked the encryption protocol of the unknown technological core.]

[Obtained Technology Blueprint: [Basic Electromagnetic Armor Technology]!]

[Obtained Technology Blueprint: [Small High-Energy Battery Technology]!]

[Obtained Information Fragment: Prospecting unit marker of the ??? Civilization (Codename: Scrin). Warning: This marker may attract subsequent units.]

A series of information flooded into Sun Zheng's mind!

[Basic Electromagnetic Armor Technology]: Can be applied to all armored units, increasing base armor value by 10%. Can only be equipped after the Combat Laboratory is unlocked.

[Small High-Energy Battery Technology]: Can extend the endurance of certain units (such as advanced infantry and vehicles). Also requires the Combat Laboratory.

That last piece of information made a chill run down his spine!

Scrin? Prospecting unit? Marker?

Did this mean those mechanical spiders were just the vanguard scouts of some alien civilization? And by destroying them, he had been marked, which would bring even bigger trouble?

His sense of crisis was instantly maxed out!

But on the other hand, the technological gains were a genuine surprise! These two technologies, especially the electromagnetic armor, could directly improve the survivability of all future armored units!

It truly was a mix of blessings and curses!

He couldn't wait any longer. As soon as his funds jumped to $2,000, he immediately ordered:

"Build War Factory!"

An even larger laser printer began to work, and a massive factory structure gradually took shape on the ground. This time, it took longer than before—fifteen minutes.

During those fifteen minutes, every second felt like a year to Sun Zheng. He stared at the War Factory's progress while repeatedly reviewing the descriptions of the two new technologies and that unsettling warning.

Finally, construction was complete!

A massive War Factory, brimming with the atmosphere of heavy industry, stood firmly in the base! A large section of the unit list on the UI interface instantly lit up!

[Allied War Factory] ready!

Producible units:

[multifunction infantry vehicle] - Cost: $600

[Remote Control Tank] - Cost: $700

[phantom tank] - Cost: $1,000 (Requires Combat Laboratory)

[prism tank] - Cost: $1,200 (Requires Combat Laboratory)

And the most basic, most reliable—

[grizzly tank] - Cost: $700

That was the one! Without a second thought, Sun Zheng clicked the production icon for the grizzly tank. $700 was deducted from his funds.

A few minutes later, accompanied by a low roar, a grizzly tank with rugged lines and a thick cannon barrel slowly rolled out of the War Factory exit! Its steel tracks crushed the lunar dust, exuding a sense of power!

[Unit ready.]

Looking at this true steel war machine on the screen, Sun Zheng felt a surge of heroic pride. He had his first batch of guns, and now, he had his first tank!

He controlled the tank to turn in place, its turret rotating left and right, savoring the sense of security brought by its heavy weight.

However, at that very moment, the warning that had just quieted down seemed to come true—

[Warning! High-speed object detected approaching! Bearing: Directly above! Estimated time to contact: 3 minutes!]

On the map panel, a piercing red dot was breaking through the moon's thin outer atmosphere, trailing an invisible wake as it plummeted precisely toward the base!

Sun Zheng's pupils constricted violently!

The Scrin's retaliation... was coming this fast?!